contactcontactcontactcontact

The Balalaika and Domra Association of America conference 2005 in Madison, WI photos

Russian folk music and dance ensemble Barynya participated in 2005 The Balalaika and Domra Association of America conference in Madison, WI.

Video of ensemble Barynya performance Alex Siniavski (balalaika), Mikhail Smirnov (guitar, vocal), Judy Sherman (vocal), Victor Gorodinsky (balalaika contrabass) and Greg Harbar (accordion)

Photos of the domra and balalaika players and Russian folk music fans who also attended the BDAA convention. We hope to see you all again next year!

The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005
Celebrating russian folk music
Article by Gayle Worland
Copyright 2005 - Wisconsin State Journal

Lisa Woodson used to wield a cello in the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra. Today the Madison native-turned- Russian historian nestles a three-stringed, melon-backed alto domra onto her lap and, with a pick in her right hand instead of a bow, begins a quick tremolo - releasing the music of another country, another time, half a world away.

The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention

"I think it's a beautiful sound. A very rich sound," says Woodson of the Russian folk instrument she took up just 2 years ago. "There's a sort of singing quality to the sound of a rapidly strummed instrument."

The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention

On Saturday evening, Woodson and 67 other musicians from across North America and Russia will don their colorful peasant dresses ("sarafans") and high-necked shirts ("rubashkas") for a two-hour Russian Festival Concert in UW-Madison's Mills Hall.

The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention

The performance is the culmination of a weeklong convention of the BDAA, or Balalaika and Domra Association of America, which is being held this week in Madison for the second time in the BDAA's 27-year history.

The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention

This passionate music is best known to Western audiences from the 1965 film "Doctor Zhivago" - spirited and sparkling and yet, through an underlying yearning and poignancy, able to touch a deep place in the soul.

The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention

The round-faced domra and the triangle-shaped balalaika form the core of the Russian folk orchestra. Like the violin family, the imported instruments come in various shapes and timbres, from the soprano- voiced "prima" balalaikas and domras, just a tad smaller than a mandolin, to their colossal bass and contrabass versions that stand upright on the floor and tower over the musicians who play them.

The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention

Saturday's performance, conducted by Svetlana Nikonova, also features musicians on flute, oboe, bayan (a button accordion) and the autoharp- like gusli. The percussion section will include the orchestra's youngest member, the conductor's 8-year-old daughter, Varvara.

The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention

For some a quirky pastime, for others a link to their ancestry, Russian folk orchestras tend to embrace skilled musicians and beginners alike. Today only about 10 active Russian folk orchestras are sprinkled across the U.S., including Madison's UW Russian Folk Orchestra founded seven years ago by Slavic Studies librarian Victor Gorodinsky.

The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention

Though centuries old, the Russian folk sound "is still somewhat exotic in this country," says Gorodinsky. "Maybe not as exciting as people who eat snakes. But it's exciting."

Non-musicians also come to BDAA conventions to soak up the culture: Russian language classes, gypsy jam sessions, folk dances, and lessons in cooking traditional Russian appetizers, or zakuski.

The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention

On the last night of the convention, the cooks bring in the zakuski "with great ceremony, sometimes by candelight," said BDAA executive director Maxwell McCullough. "And we chow down."

Still, music is the week's centerpiece. The orchestra meets two hours a day to rehearse concert pieces ranging from a classical Tchaikovsky work to Strauss's "Radetzky March" and traditional folk tunes. Players learn from master teachers like domra virtuoso Nadezhda Burdykina and balalaika pro Igor Senin, a husband-and- wife team who will be featured soloists in Saturday's show.

"There's just something about Russian folk music," says Ron Markvan, BDAA president and a prima balalaika player. "It grabs you by the heart."

The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2005 convention
RELATED LINKS

Balalaika Balalayka Балалайка
Russian folk music free MP3 download
Free Russian Balalaika Ringtones
Free Russian sheet music
Russian costumes
Russian lyrics, Russian songs translations into English
Russian folk
Russian music
DOMRA
History of Russian balalaika
Balalaika made in 1887
Balalaika handmade in Moscow, Russia
Contrabass Balalaika and Bass Balalaika
Balalaika Contrabass Buying Guide
Christmas Diary of the balalaika player
Russian American Wedding or balalaika scam
Russian music album "What a Balalaika!" by Nikita Siniy

Barynya Russian Entertainment database
Russian dance and music ensemble Barynya from New York
New York balalaika orchestra
Russian Band from New York
Russian Balalaika duo from Philadelphia, Pennsilvania
Russian Balalaika and Garmoshka Duo
Balalaika Dance Trio, Philadelphia, PA
Brooklyn Balalaikas
The Balalaika Russe
Russian music duo from Chicago, Illinois
Balalaika Stooges
Kalinka Duo: balalaika and bayan from Austin, TX
Alex Siniavski - Balalaika virtuoso from Philadelphia, PA
Lev Zabeginsky - New York balalaika virtuoso
Sasha Ressetar - balalaika player from Harrisburg, PA
Simon Lemberskiy - balalaika player from Brooklyn, New York
Contrabass Balalaika player Leonid Bruk
Sergey Vashchenko - Balalaika virtuoso from Austin, TX
Balalaika tutorial DVD by Alex Siniavski
Balalaika Virtuoso Bibs Ekkel
Russian Christmas Music Balalaika Album
Balalaika music album "Barynya Russian folk songs"

The Balalaika and Domra Association of America
BDAA 2007 Festival of Russian Music
The Balalaika and Domra Association of America 2006 photos
BDAA 2005 conference in Madison, Wisconsin video
BDAA 2005 conference in Madison, Wisconsin photos
School of playing balalaika contrabass (in Russian)
Aleksandr Nikitich Rozhkov (in Russian)
How to play tremolo on balalaika (in Russian)
Американско-Русская свадьба или как обмануть балалаечника

 
Free Russian sheet music
Russian sheet music

5grand.us
5GRAND.US
- Russian Wedding Music Band and dancers from New York

Bottle Dancers USA
Bottle Dancers USA
- New York Jewish dance show

BARYNYA NEWSGROUP

subscribe to website Barynya news and updates

read Barynya news archives

search website | website map | add url | subscribe to Barynya news | merchandise | contact